· June, 2010

Stories about East Asia from June, 2010

Singapore: Swiss national to be caned for train vandalism

A Swiss IT consultant in Singapore was sentenced to three strokes of the cane and five months in prison after he pleaded guilty to breaking into a Singapore train depot last month and vandalising two carriages. Bloggers debate whether caning is an appropriate punishment.

30 June 2010

Taiwan: Fly, Wen Gui Hospital, Fly!

Have you ever seen the Pixar/Disney animation “UP”? See the real version in Tainan County, Taiwan(zht) when students from Tainan National University of the Arts tried to save the old...

30 June 2010

China: Shanghai World Expo

Maple Xu blogs about her experience in the Shanghai World Expo. The post is translated from Chinese into English by Xujun Eberlein.

30 June 2010

Taiwan: Don't call Rendy Lu “Glory of Taiwan”

“Do not always praise these national athletes ‘Glory of Taiwan’ loudly only after they strived hard to glorify themselves!” argues Klairelee(zht), who blames Taiwanese government and media that are always eager to consume...

30 June 2010

Japan: The Hero, Sakamoto Ryoma

Confident, charismatic, and ever so dashing, Sakamoto Ryoma has always been one of Japan's favorite historical figures. Since NHK started to broadcast the historical drama series Ryōmaden ('The Legend of Ryoma') this January, a nation-wide Ryoma boom has exploded.

29 June 2010

China: Gamers need not worry over new real name rules

This summer will see the introduction of real name regulations for e-commerce entrepreneurs and online gamers. With a series of past failed attempts in China at implementing similar rules, one blogger looks at the logistics of real name requirements and doesn't expect these new regulations to stick.

29 June 2010

Singapore: No to caning

Spotlight on Singapore is against the punishment of caning. Recently, a foreigner who was found guilty of vandalizing a train in Singapore was sentenced to 5 months in jail and...

29 June 2010

Thailand: Bangkok back to normal?

Don Gilliland observes that “the comforting rhythm of daily life in Bangkok has returned to normal this month.” Protesters were able to paralyze many parts of the city for two...

29 June 2010

Lao44 website

Lao44 or Coalition for Lao Information, Communication and Knowledge is the largest repository of documents in Lao language. The number 44 in Lao44 refers to Article 44 in the Constitution...

29 June 2010

About our East Asia coverage

Oiwan Lam
Oiwan Lam is the North East Asia editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.

Mong Palatino
Mong Palatino is the South East Asia editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.